A little of this and a little of that!
PRAIRIE SPRING
Here are no woods to wear
Feathers of green;
No mountains with their bare
Blue bones showing between
Tresses of waterfalls.
But here the veery calls
And the wind blows cool and clean
For wide, unhindered miles.
Earth softens underfoot,
The tall sky smiles,
And everywhere the gold
Silk sheen of the grass and the wheat
Is grandly unrolled, spread like a sweet
Carpet beneath Spring's feet.
~R.H. Grenville
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.
~Henry David Thoreau
PRAYER
Lord, you have taught me to accept defeat,
To taste the bitter when I sought the sweet.
Knowing the longest night brings hopeful dawn,
I gather up the pieces, and go on.
Now, let your Spirit tell me how to treat
A child whose dreams lie broken at her feet:
How to share the hard-earned wisdom and the calm,
The confidence, to be her sore heart's balm?
She's tender, Lord. Her hurts hurt more than mine.
She's young, and thinks the sun will never shine.
Just yesterday, she laughed, and walked in clover....
Teach her tomorrow is for starting over.
~Helene Lewis Coffer
The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing, and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares.
~Henri Nouwen
"Out of Solitude"
TO OUR GUEST
If you come cheerily,
Here shall be jest for you;
If you come wearily,
Here shall be rest for you.
If you come borrowing,
Gladly we'll loan to you;
If you come sorrowing,
Love shall be shown to you.
Under our thatch, friend,
Peace shall abide for you;
Touch but the latch, friend,
The door shall swing wide for you!
~Nancy Byrd Turner
There is a good cup of tea when you are feeling low. Thin, and plenty of milk, and brown sugar in the crystal, in a big cup so that when your mouth is used to the heat you can drink instead of sipping. Every part of you inside you that seems to have gone to sleep comes lively again. A good friend of mine is a cup of tea, indeed.
~Richard Llewelyn
"How Green was my Valley"
OLD LAUGHTER
The men and women long ago
In Africa, in Africa,
Knew all there was of joy to know.
In sunny Africa
The spices flew from tree to tree.
The spices trifled in the air
That carelessly
Fondled the twisted hair.
The men and women richly sang
In land of gold and green and red.
The bells of merriment richly rang.
But richness is long dead,
Old laughter chilled, old music done
In bright, bewildered Africa.
The bamboo and the cinnamon
Are sad in Africa.
~Gwendolyn Brooks
The only people for me are the mad ones ~ the ones who are mad to live, made to talk, mad to be saved, desirious of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles.
~Jack Kerouac
"On the Road"
KNOWLEDGE...a proverb
There are four sorts of men:
He who knows not and knows not he knows not:
He is a fool ~ shun him;
He who knows not and knows he knows not:
He is simple ~ teach him;
He who knows and knows not he knows:
He is asleep ~ wake him;
He who knows and knows he knows:
He is wise ~ follow him.
~Lady Burton
"Life of Sir Richard Burton"
Quoted as an Arabian proverb
Not for the flag
of any land because myself
was born there
Will I give up my life.
But I will love that land
where man is free,
And that I will defend.
~Edna St. Vincent Millay
"Montana Wives"
~"The Meadow"~
an original composition by
Bruce DeBoer
Copyright, 1999
